Page 35 of River Legacy
Not having any idea where to find the Stafford Ranch, he parked in front of the Cattleman Café and went inside. It was after the morning rush so there were only a couple of older men at one of the tables. Both looked at him, frowned and went back to their breakfasts. Wen had advised him to try to blend in. Not to wear a suit. Try to look local.
As he noted the two locals frowning at him, one in worn blue overalls and the other in just as worn canvas pants, he couldn’t imagine why he would want to look like them. But he had stopped at an outdoor store in Miles City, bought himself some canvas pants, a flannel shirt and a pair of Western boots. He hated the feel of all of it and felt ridiculous. At the first wide spot in the road, he’d changed into a pair of designer jeans he’d brought along with a hoodie and his running shoes.
Now he took a seat in the café, trying to ignore the two men who would occasionally turn in his direction with questioning looks. The place smelled of bacon and biscuits. When an older woman, her hair a cap of tight gray curls, came out of the back, she grabbed a menu, a glass of ice water, a cup and a pot of coffee before she approached him.
“Coffee?” she asked as she set down the cup and started to fill it. “Cream and sugar?” He just had time to nod before she reached into her pocket and produced several small containers of cream and somesugar packets. She handed him the menu. “Special is bacon, two eggs, biscuits and gravy.”
He thought of his boss and smiled. “I’ll take it.” Before she could ask how he liked his eggs, he told her, “Over easy.”
She gave him an abrupt nod and took off with the coffeepot to go refill the ranchers’ cups.
The breakfast was delicious. He ate every bite and enjoyed it so much that he’d wished he had taken a photo of it first to send to Wen. Too late now, he thought.
When the woman came back to clear the table, he asked, “Can you tell me how to get out to the Stafford Ranch?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “You have business out there?”
“I’m a friend of Ryder’s,” he lied. “He said if I was ever in the area...”
She still looked skeptical but said, “I’ll make you a map. You might want to call first, though. This time of year, they aren’t around the house much, though I think they’ve already moved their cattle.”
“The life of a rancher,” Claude said, wondering what ranchers did other than move cows around.
The next time she came by, she brought a map she’d drawn on a napkin. She gave him a cup of coffee in a to-go container for the road, he paid his bill and, feeling good and confident this wasn’t a wild-goose chase, left.
Once in the SUV again, though, he had to go over his game plan in his mind. It was risky, but at thispoint, he felt he had nothing to lose. And it wasn’t as risky or as dangerous as plan B, let alone C.
He couldn’t help but think about what he’d already been through as he drove out the county road toward the Stafford Ranch. He’d flown up here with Wen thinking he was almost family. He’d foolishly thought that even if he and Victoria didn’t hit it off this time, Wen would have been able to bring his daughter to heel.
Instead, she’d pulled a fast one that neither of them had seen coming.
Claude had never had any trouble getting women. It still irked him that this spoiled brat had his future in her hands. Worse maybe, he had come to hate his job, especially the way Wen treated him. He had to do something to fix that or he was going to quit. Wen would destroy him if he quit, but he couldn’t be expected to take this much abuse.
As he drove, he thought about how to get back into his boss’s good graces. Wen wanted the Stafford Ranch; he’d made that much clear. There was only one way Claude could see him getting it—short of figuring out how to buy a place that wasn’t for sale. Victoria would have to marry Ryder. Apparently, his boss thought that Claude showing up at the ranch would force her into the rancher’s arms—if not his bed.
Claude felt he had two options. Push Victoria into a marriage with the cowboy to make his boss happy. He really couldn’t see that happening,knowing Victoria. She was an obstinate, incorrigible woman. The second option was to make sure the cowboy and the princess never got together.
He loved that idea because it was the perfect way to get back at his boss for making him come out here, expecting him to grovel for his daughter. Tough decision, he thought, smiling. This trip to Montana had opened his eyes. He didn’t care about his job anymore. His self-respect was on the line. He wanted more than anything to get out of his contract, even though he knew he didn’t stand a chance in hell—and Wen knew it. Which meant the man wasn’t going to fire him, no matter what he did. Payback felt good.
As he saw the sign to the ranch ahead, he slowed, knowing there was only one answer. Plan A. The risky one, but still less dangerous than the other two. With this one at least, he wouldn’t go to jail.
Victoria heard the sound of a vehicle engine and opened her eyes. She’d fallen asleep on the bales in the barn? The realization made her chuckle. Back in the city, she’d always needed pills to sleep. She certainly hadn’t the last two nights here on the ranch. She sat up and stretched.
“Have you been here all night?” she asked Ryder when he came out of the new mama’s stall. She caught a glimpse of the foal and couldn’t believe how well he was getting around already.
“There wasn’t much night left after the birth,”Ryder said as he moved to the open barn door at the sound of a car door slamming. “Looks like we have company,” he said. He didn’t sound surprised, but she saw his disappointment and quickly stood.
“Who?” She began to brush herself off, afraid it was Ryder’s mother. She didn’t want anyone seeing her with hay in her hair and looking a mess, but especially his mother. Why she wanted the woman to like her she couldn’t have said yesterday. Today she felt more invested in this ranch, in this life, in Ryder.
When she reached the open barn door, though, she saw their visitor was the last person she wanted to see under any circumstances. “You have to be kidding. What ishedoing here?”
“I would imagine your father sent him to get you,” Ryder said.
“My father didn’t mention it when you texted him where I was going, did he?”
“He didn’t answer my text at all.”
“Enjoying yourself?” Claude asked her as he walked over to them, ignoring everyone but her. She felt him take her in, not missing a thing. In the wee hours, she’d thrown clothing on half-asleep and was still wearing Ryder’s shirt that was far too large for her. Claude had also caught her after having just woken up on a hay bale. She hated to think what she looked like—or what Claude thought had been going on. She didn’t want to hurt the man or antagonize him. She just wanted him to leave.
